Chicago Bulls' fans are breathing a small sigh of relief. After suffering an orbital bone fracture on the first day of training camp, Derrick Rose is only expected to miss two weeks after undergoing surgery on the issue. That is seemingly good news considering the point guard's injury history as the Bulls hope this is their year to emerge as contenders once again. Now the team can go back to focusing on lineup adjustments as Joakim Noah makes it clear he wants to start.
Last season was not kind to Noah who dealt with injuries for most of the year. The center is healthy and looking to regain his spot on the floor again. The issue is the Bulls have a lot of big men on the floor and spacing is an issue. With Taj Gibson, Paul Gasol and Nikola Mirotic on the roster, head coach Fred Hoiberg is considering who are the best options to put together. Noah believes he and Gasol make a good tandem.
"I think we should give it an honest evaluation while I'm healthy," Noah said, via Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit Free Press. "Last year, I wasn't healthy. Let's see how it goes and then coaches can make a decision from there."
Statistically speaking, Gibson's numbers were better when he was a starter rather than when he was coming off the bench. He and Gasol worked well together while Mirotic created need spacing on the floor. Noah was not healthy last year, so he is right to say the team cannot judge him off of that. If he is moving better than last year, he could be the favored pairing for Gasol. Noah is battling for a new contract. The center is entering the final year of his contract and another down season could hurt his chances at getting paid. Of course earning a starting role would help.
With Rose returning in two weeks, the chemistry he must build with Jimmy Butler will take a backseat. Last season, Butler was the star of the show and got paid like it in the offseason. He is aiming for that to continue while Rose likes when the offense runs through him. Both players recognized they must do a better job of working together in the coming season if the Bulls are going to win.
"I think we play well on the court together,'' Butler said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. "With the more time that we're out there we'll definitely get better at it. Off the floor, I mean he has a son, so he has a family that he has to take care of. I'm with my brothers a lot of the time, but I mean when we have a chance we'll hang around each other, but I feel like we spend enough time together on the court. I think when you're off the court then you go your separate ways a little bit.''
